Sunbury Matters
The Harrow, Charlton Village
By Nick Pollard The Harrow pub is situated on the main road in the centre of Charlton Village and is a rare example of a thatched building in this area. It probably dates from the 16th or early 17th century and may be the oldest building in Spelthorne to be a public house. However, it
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A visit to The Academy, Shepperton
By Monica Jones At the far side of the Little-ton Recreation ground in Shepperton, sits The Academy. This is Shepper-ton’s very own boxing gym, with one difference. It is run purely by volunteers and is for youngsters from aged 10. Boxing gives them an outlet for energy, gets them off the streets and gives them
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Spelthorne in Bloom winners
Another Spelthorne in Bloom has drawn to a close. Running since 1989, Spelthorne in Bloom encourages residents to garden and tend and encourages a sense of civic pride in our communities. It celebrates the work of the borough’s green fingered residents and is about making the borough beautiful. There is no doubt that gardening is
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Lest we forget – November 12th
The cold, wet weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of all those who turned out to mark Remembrance Day in Sunbury on a slightly soggy November morning. Everyone played their part magnificently, and the organisers would like to thank all those who helped in whatever capacity, and all those who paraded, played, sang, and
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Spelthorne Business Awards
By the time this has printed, we will know who has been crowned Best in Spelthorne at the Spelthorne Business Awards 2023. And of course the winners in the 17 categories will be admiring their trophies and feeling a huge sense of pride. Quite rightly too! This competition run by Spelthorne Borough Council is a
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LoSRA Says
The Thames: A Dire Warning from an Environment Agency Whistleblower In an exclusive interview for the River and Canal News, an (anonymised) insider from the Environment Agency sheds light on the alarming state of the Thames. It is not known whether the EA has responded. Should it do so, we will endeavour to publish their
Local Capture
Thank you for this month’s photos. Do share your photos with us. Email monica@villagematters.co.uk.
Sunbury Beat
By Inspector Matthew Walton, Borough Commander Spelthorne Following up from my last piece in Sunbury Matters, I am pleased to be able to bring you an update. In Sunbury, work has been completed in For-est Drive behind Sunbury Cross shopping centre, with all new security doors and the CCTV has been upgraded; this has been
The Watersplash, Sunbury
By Nick Pollard This postcard shows the watersplash at Sunbury, in the years before World War One. You may well be asking yourself where there is a watersplash in Sunbury, but the clue is in the name of Ford-bridge Road, which leads from Sunbury village towards Walton Bridge and Shepperton. The original name for the
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Scholarship Fund at Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios has announced a new Scholarship fund for up to five students per year at the National Film and Television School (NFTS). The scholarships are available for applicants that live within the Borough of Spelthorne, local to the Studios, who have been accepted to study a Diploma or Masters course at the NFTS. Courses
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Give the gift of a tree!
Now there is an ‘in-tree-guing’ idea! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Did you know that you can get a tree planted in your garden for only £40? Considering how long this gift would last, how sustainable and how much it would keep on giving, it is definitely worth a thought. The Spelthorne Tree Wardens do an
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ScamWatch
By Bill Cunningham Appy Christmas! For our smart phones we can download apps to make our busy lives somehow better. We have about 8 million to choose from! And are all of them safe to use, and as good as claimed, with as many users as claimed? Well of course not! It’s another way that
Help a child this Christmas
What could be a better gift than helping support a child to enjoy Christmas? Home-Start Spelthorne have launched a Christmas Gift Appeal. If you could spare a few pounds for a gift for a child this Christmas, please consider donating; www.justgiving.com/spelthornechristmas This will enable Home-Start to put together bespoke packages for the families they are
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Gardening Matters
By Rachael Leverton I love hellebores. Their beautiful flowers in subtle colours brighten my garden at this time of year, hence they are also known as the Christmas rose or the Lenten Rose because they bloom from late winter to early spring. My elderly neighbour was admiring my dis-play last year and asked if I
Christmas comes early to Sunbury
Thanks to the generosity of three borough councillors, Sunbury Christmas market will be a genuine community affair. Better Neighbourhood grants have been given by Buddhi Weerasinghe, Matthew Lee and Kathy Grant. This windfall for the Lower Sunbury Business Community (LSBC) will allow volunteers to put on the market, get insurance, make sure the lights are
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Give the Gift of reading this Christmas!
Bookmark Reading Charity are looking for volunteers to inspire the ‘joy of reading’ and give every child the opportunity to succeed. How many words do you read a day? Now imagine if you couldn’t read at all. That’s what it’s like for one in four children in England who are unable to read well when they
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Sunbury Court and an early link to slavery
By Ken Battle It has recently been discovered that Sunbury Court (Sunbury Place before 1854), home of the Salvation Army since 1925, was owned between 1777 and 1793 by a married couple who also owned a Jamaican slave plantation during that period. The University College London (UCL) ‘Legacies of British Slavery’ online database was used
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Congratulations to Ms GB Classic!
Well, she only went and did it! Congratulations to Gina Broadhurst of Just Shutters in Walton, who has been successful in her bid to become Ms GB Classic. She also scooped the Best Publicity award and the Best Interview award. Gina had been publi-cising her entry in advance of the gala night, by supporting two
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Sunbury boy – Rugby World Cup Mascot
Arthur Williams who is in Year 6 at Hawkedale primary school, had the experience of a lifetime recently. He entered a Land Rover Defender competition back in February that was sent round by the premiership rugby clubs. They were looking for a ‘Defender of tomorrow’ amongst youngsters and the prize was to appear as a
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